The FastDay Forum

Hey, newbie here from the US. I plan on starting 5:2 soon and my TDEE is 1,777 calories, but maybe I'll try 1,400 or 1,500 (perhaps to lose weight a bit faster. That worked for some other people, maybe it'll work for me too) but eat more if I find that 1,400 or 1,500 is not enough for me (not going over my TDEE of course). I was just wondering how you guys divide up your calories on non-fast days, so I made up a poll.

I divide up as around 1000 cals for dinner ( my evening meal except sundays when we have a roast at midday) and around 500-600 cals for lunch which leaves some for drinks and possible snacks though i try not to snack. I don't have breakfast.

Calorie counts depend on what I'm doing on the day.

I'd have to divide my day into 10 units and say:

breakfast is 2/10 to 3/10

lunch is 1/10 - 2/10

dinner is 3/10 to 4/10 (depending on schedule)

The other units might be snacks of yoghurt etc. after a workout (depending on the day). However, in general, Dinner is the largest meal; breakfast is smaller than dinner; lunch is smaller than breakfast.

I only have lunch and dinner, but I don't count. I'd guess I had 1/3 lunch and the rest at night. Not necessarily all as dinner.

On average - 300 breakfast, 600 lunch, 600 dinner, 300 evening snacks. But often end up having more than that in the evening.. .

My TDEE is 1900+, but I doubt I eat to that most normal days. I don't follow any specific plan or pattern; I tend not to eat breakfast, and some days eat very little till late afternoon or early evening. Some days I'll have 2 meals and maybe a snack; other days, one large meal (especially if I eat out) and a couple of snacks. Now that 5:2 has made me comfortable with hunger, I "save" my appetite for something worthwhile. For example, in the past if I was out running around and felt "hungry," I ate a Kind bar or something similar to tide me over; not necessary now. Maybe I'll have a cup of tea or coffee, or some water, then will wait till I can get a proper meal. I used to grab a bag of chips and mindlessly munch on them; not that I don't eat chips (potato/tortilla) now, but I do so "on purpose," as part of a meal or snack. I usually don't have a problem delaying gratification, especially if what I'm planning on having is worth waiting for.

Just my two cents worth: Watch it with the going under TDEE on normal days; some have found that's counterproductive (may trigger an apparent metabolic slowdown). Don't forget, you'll have to reduce your intake as you lose anyway. However, our experience seems to indicate that those who've not dieted much before have an easier time losing. If speed is your primary motivator, 5:2 may not be the right plan for you. The idea is that you will be eating this way FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. Really...not just the usual lip service. You must get your head around this; it's not about a number on the scale or dress size, there's no end point/goal after which you're "done." Many have found they must continue to "fast" 2 days a week to maintain their loss.

The real beauty of 5:2 is its flexibility; you can mold it to what works for you. That said, it's not a bad idea to do "plain vanilla" 5:2 for a couple of months before making modifications.

[Tracieknits]

I am a lot like Merlin. I don't often have breakfast, I have maybe 1/3 of my calories at lunch and the rest at night. I try to finish all eating by 9pm, so I usually have about a 9 hour eating window.

Part of the reason so many people like 5:2 is because for 4 or 5 days a week, they are eating to their TDEE and feel pretty dang satisfied. Calorie restriction every single day makes this plan not a whole lot different from weight watchers or slimming world. You'll find diet fatigue sets in sooner than if you were just doing 5:2 and your likelihood of quitting the plan within 6 weeks is a lot higher. I just hope that if that happens, you don't blame 5:2.

The thing I like best about *real* 5:2, where I eat to approximately my TDEE every day, and eat 25% of my TDEE on my fast days, is that my willpower is only seriously stressed two afternoons a week (on fast days, I don't eat until dinner). Yes, on non-fast days I have to be careful to not seriously overeat, but I'm nowhere near deprived, even when I count and log my calories to ensure I'm not overdoing it. My willpower isn't pushed much at all.

Another benefit to doing 5:2 properly, and eating to about your TDEE a few days a week, is that your metabolism never knows what's coming next, so it doesn't slow down, thinking there's a famine.

Good luck

I don't count calories on non-fast days, but I do eat the majority of my calories at my evening meal. This is mostly because I tend to get sluggish or sleepy after I eat so I keep lunch, and breakfast if I eat it, light. I've been keeping the calories in check by cutting out sweets/sugar, and alcohol, and keeping snacks to a minimum.

I might lose weight faster if I ate at my TDEE on non-fast days, but I'm planning on IF as my way of eating from here on out, so it must be sustainable for me. Hence no calorie counting on feast days. I know I'd get tired and stop if I tracked calories every day.

I don't count calories on non-fast days - not having to is the main reason I do this WoE! But in terms of number of meals, I like to mix it up a bit and keep my metabolism guessing. So I don't have breakfast the day after a fast day - on those days I like to see how far into the morning I can go before needing a snack, which is normally about 11.30! I then have lunch and dinner on those days with some small snacks here and there. But if it's not the day after a fast, I will have breakfast, lunch and dinner at fairly traditional times (and fewer snacks that if I hadn't had breakfast!).

One thing that really shapes my 5:2 eating pattern is that my place of work doesn't really allow eating of lunch in offices, which means that lunchtimes are very much a social event where groups go to the canteen and eat together. This means that I am pretty much obliged to eat some form of lunch on both fasting and non-fasting days if I don't want to draw a lot of attention to myself. On fasting days I'm now pretty good at working out what the lowest calorie lunch I can eat at work is without attracting too much attention/comment! That way I can try and leave myself as many calories as possible for the evenings, which is usually around 375 cals.

Oops - I totally misread the question & pressed the button to vote before I realised it! Thought it said "fast days" - so voted all calories eaten at dinner time. I meant that's what I do on a fast day! Can my vote be scrubbed? Sorry!

Oops - I totally misread the question & pressed the button to vote before I realised it! Thought it said "fast days" - so voted all calories eaten at dinner time. I meant that's what I do on a fast day! Can my vote be scrubbed? Sorry!

Yes, this poll has the option to change your vote

Approximately 1/3 for lunch (around 2:30-3) and the rest in the evening mostly dinner some snacks

I've got another question. I'm a 20 yo female, and like I said my TDEE is 1,777. I found an old post the other day from this forum where someone suggested to put your goal weight into the TDEE calculator and eat to that or close. I did that, and at my goal weight it said my TDEE is 1,630. The weight I need to lose to reach my goal weight is just a bit under 30 pounds. So, could I just eat close to 1,630 (goal weight TDEE) right from the start? The TDEEs at my current weight and at my goal weight are only like 147 calories apart... that's not that much right? Also, do I only eat 500 cals on my fast days no matter what my TDEE is?

I eat about 1/2 my calories during the day (breakfast, lunch, snacks) and the other half for dinner.
My TDEE is about 1700, but I try to limit it to 1400 and then splurge a bit on the weekends.

I do a sort of modified 16:8 on non-fast days. After a fast, I wake up so hungry sometimes that I feel I need something to tide me over to lunch, so I have a soft-boiled egg, just like on fast days. But otherwise, I only have lunch and dinner. On weekdays I think dinner cals > lunch cals, but on weekends, it can easily be the other way around if I eat lunch out.